Clemson +125 3% play
This is very similar to the Georgia game in that you have a regular conference champion going up against the conference new comer, and the game playing on a neutral field in the under dogs home state. Clemson also has faced the tougher schedule with Georgia and South Carolina in non-conference play. They also enjoy a major advantage in turnover % per possession as their offense ranks 13th, while SMU’s offense ranks 99th in percentage of possessions ending in a turnover. Cade Klubnick has quietly enjoyed a really great year, and I think he will have another good game here. On the flip side SMU struggled in their road game at Duke. Their offensively line got dominated, but they were lucky enough to come out with a win. Could we see a similar struggle here tonight?
Coaching is a huge consideration in these meaningful games, and we obviously have the edge with Dabo. Rhett Lashlee has done a good job here going 29-10, but 0-2 in bowls is concerning. What’s also concerning is when he goes up against an opposing HC that is clearly a top tier coach his offense struggles. Manny Diaz at Duke is a good DC, and they struggled. BYU has an excellent coach in Satake and they struggled. On the road at Oklahoma last year against Venables and they struggled putting up 11 points, facing TCU last year and they struggled. Jeff Hafley of BC, trusted defensive mind now the Packers DC faced them in their bowl game and Lashlee’s offense struggled. In 2022 his first year he had 6 losses, which is understandable, but again most of them were against opposing head coaches that most would consider better coaches, Dykes, Malzahn, Fickel, Fritz & Satake. Dabo Swinney gets a lot of disrespect in my opinion, and 7-0 SU & 6-1 ATS in the ACC Championship game should garner some respect here. Swinney’s teams have gone up against Lashlee coordinated teams have scored 17 and 13 points. I also think this situation with Clemson the way they walked into the ACC Championship game, they are under dogs just fits Dabo Swinney’s personality perfectly. It will be ironic or not ironic when they find themselves in the college football playoff yet again after beating SMU here.
